Assign a 'primary' menu
189: The Holy Spirit’s Role in the Counseling
Session expired
Please log in again. The login page will open in a new tab. After logging in you can close it and return to this page.
I really got a lot out of this podcast, especially the truth the we cannot counsel in our own understanding, knowledge, or experience. I have to admit that my understanding of the work of the Holy Spirit has been confused for much of my christian walk. I have been back and forth in areas of christian influence between, “no Holy Spirit gifts working today,” to everything is about “the Holy Spirit doing signs and wonders in our lives.” I never ‘felt” competent as a Christian in either arena. I have mostly felt like “I am missing something.”
He has given me a better understanding in the past few years of how He works in my life, but I still have so much to learn.
Such a great podcast. I don’t even know where to begin due to the amount of information. I think the most impactful was the reminder that we use biblical solutions when counseling. Sometimes we do want to share our own experiences. I do believe there are benefits but it should be the standard. God’s Word is the standard and the other thing is the pastoral heart. I just love that. Experience will teach us when to comfort in affliction and when to expose the sin. I always like to think back on my journey and the pace with which I learned and the time it took for me to understand and recognize the change in myself. So encouraging!
Topic of personal experiences, I do know my story has a place in giving counsel, probably it is most relevant in sharing the Gospel and what God did in saving me through Christ and being transformed by Him. But I would like to think that my main goal in counseling is to present the Truth of Scriptures to others to show them the power and glory of God and what He has already said about any given topic and how it is relevant and objective (a firm foundation). Example of testimonies in John 4 and Mark 5 have always encouraged me, but I do think there is a clear purpose for testimonies: 1. sharing the Gospel so that others would believe, 2. Encouraging others in the works of God in their lives.
I think I use both a lot of times in conversations, but using Biblical language when I am talking with believers. I have let the Bible shape the language of my experience rather than my experience shape the Truth. I do love looking at the examples of suffering in 2 Cor 11 – Paul suffered intensely for the sake of Christ and never faltered from leaving or forsaking God and the calling to preach Christ Crucified. God’s grace is sufficient for us and only the Bible can give way to such deep and moving and convicting words to meditate on.
Good questions from the students, I really enjoyed those and hearing your thoughts, Jeff, and thinking about how I also might answer them. Reading the Old Testament, especially in Judges, you see the Spirit “Rushing upon” someone and it was always with the intent that the person did something. Even in Acts, Peter, being filled with the Holy Spirit, DID SOMETHING, typically he spoke boldly. It’s not that the Spirit had left him, but now it was filling him with God’s power to accomplish something, and that is personally what I see for consideration of application based on the texts. Like Jeff said, the Spirit is always with you, like the ocean, and in rare occasions it may drown you.
I am a mountain dweller, born and raised, and aching to live out there in Colorado Rocky Mountains again.
So much truth in the leading of the Holy Spirit and how we need his presence in counseling. Jeff brings to light many things on this topic as we learn to have a working knowledge of the scripture. Just as Jesus used scripture to resist temptation, we are to use the word of God to do the same and lead others to scripture in every situation. We can stick to the experiences from the bible and the stories as we relate to the people who come to us and use the examples straight from the word. These experiences show how God worked in the lives of those in the bible and can still work today. We can then give counsel and references to reading and meditating on the word throughout the week to those areas of their lives.
I liked how Jeff said, “you have the Holy Spirit, but does the Holy Spirit have you? The Holy Spirit comes in the reading of the word.” As we guide and lead others to the word, we can show how to know the presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives.
I am a Mountian person.
A lot of great nuggets in this podcast that are such helpful insights when counselling.
1. Understanding the difference between sin and suffering in a person’s life and helping them to differentiate that and to then go to the word of God for an answer under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
2. That as a biblical counselor I must have a working knowledge of the word of God. Amen to that. And the need to direct people to the person of the Holy Spirit . Amen
3. Love that comment about God’s word puts us in the box not the other way around. That his word shows how He works. Amen. His word is sufficient! It is not limiting!
4. The need to understand the difference between the flesh and the spirit and the need to live by THE Spirt. This I believe is the biggest challenge for believers to live a life motivated by and regulated by and empowered by the Holy Spirit himself. But that’s what’s available in the Christ life. Praise God.
Such great truths are things we can continue to learn and share with others. We have an endless amount of growth in every area of life and to continually be transformed by the Spirit.